Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Something else to consider is that any/every job you have isn't just about that job at that particular moment...it will become part of your work history that you will carry to most all future prospective employers. So, you have to balance any 'who cares about being fired, I hated all those people anyway!' attitude against the fact that you will have to answer for the manner of your departure for years to come. Make sure you can defend it intelligently and honestly, and sometimes you have to swallow hard and put up with stuff at a job in order to ensure that your (eventual) departure won't harm your future prospects.
So, the 'its all in my past, I've moved on' stuff doesn't work when you define your past as, say, six months-2 years ago. Employers have only your work history to make an educated guess on how you would perform as a future employee of theirs. It's a very imperfect system but its reality. Especially in this terrible job market.
makes me wonder if this economy will ever improve, get better
This is a slightly older thread, but this same theme keeps popping up over and over again. Younger workers with no work experience having difficulty getting in.
It's also evident why these keep coming up. Few of the resposnes offered actual suggestions to the situation and instead attacked the OP's lack of work experience while pumping themselves up for working since the age of 15 or 16. The fact of the matter is this is what the situaution is for the OP and millions of other young Americans (we have teen unemployment rates as high as 90% in some areas). At 22, they still have up to 50 years left in their working life. If you want to bash them and say they should never get a job because they were "lazy" as a teen, then be prepared to have them supported by your tax dollars via either welfare or incarceration. Hardly a good solution in addition to being cold and callous. Instead, we should offer constructive suggestions.
1. Military. The military is truly the only major employer who does not even take experience into consideration. Outside of the Coast Guard, you have an excellent chance at getting in so long as you have no legal or medical problems. It may take a few months and it may not be the job you want, but you'll have at least 4 years of guaranteed quality employment and will be in a good posistion for any government job and/or jobs related to the field you trained in when you get out. While the private sector isn't so hot on military service, it is at least the equiavlent if not better than the minimum wage jobs you would otherwise be looking at.
2. Government. While other government employment isn't so easy to enter as the military, it is still preferable for someone in this situation than the private sector. Many of the hirings are based on a civil service hiring process, and the stricter it adheres to those test scores the less your lack of experience matters. Even interviews are structured and based on uniform scoring criteria rather than the subjectivity of a private sector interview. These jobs can be difficult to get, but you'll at least have a better playing field.
3. Think outside the box. You should look and see if there are any jobs in your area that have trouble finding enough applicants. There is usually a reason for this (undesirability), but it may work to your advantage since they tend not to care about previous experience and may be willing to train you and likely pay better than minimum wage. Really look and think outside of the box. Maybe watch "Dirty Jobs" and see if any of them are hiring nearby...
4. Vocational Training. You could go to learn a trade or some other in demand job with relatively low training time at your own expense. Look and see what is in demand and what is projected to be in demand in the near future. If a job is in demand and needs trained workers, it will not likely care whether you bagged groceries as a teen or focused on school.
5. Minimum wage. You could try starting at the bottom with minimum wage unskilled job. In this economy, a lot of these do care about experience and will take experienced workers over you. However, this is not universal and does vary. If you apply to enough places, you may well get lucky and some place will hire you. Such things as fast food, retail, physical labor, hospitality, security etc.
I would not rely on volunteering to count as work experience. Some employers will consider relevant volunteering the equivalent, but many will only consider general volunteering as a boost to a resume similar to college clubs and NOT a subsitute for paid employment. A lot of the better volunteer jobs that would get an employer's attention require the same sorts of things as paid employement (references, employment history etc), which would not help someone with neither.
This is not to say volunteering is bad or not recommended, but don't fall for the notion that you can volunteer for 6 months and then apply for jobs since you have "experience". That is 6 months of job searching wasted, and you may find those employers could care less about your volunteer experience.
Self employment is also something I believe to be overrated. Most do not have the aptitude for that sort of thing and, unless they are hugely successful, most employers do not view that as "real" work experience.
In conclusion, the prospects are bleak for an inexperienced worker if you want to work for corporate America in a mainstream comfortable job. Most people do. However, if you think outside the box and are willing to take on some difficult, dirty,dangerous or otherwise undesirable work you will find ample opportunity. You can use this to either build up the experience and references needed to then enter comfortable corporate America, or you may just well find satisfaction in the job. The choice is yours.
This is a slightly older thread, but this same theme keeps popping up over and over again. Younger workers with no work experience having difficulty getting in.
It's also evident why these keep coming up. Few of the resposnes offered actual suggestions to the situation and instead attacked the OP's lack of work experience while pumping themselves up for working since the age of 15 or 16. The fact of the matter is this is what the situaution is for the OP and millions of other young Americans (we have teen unemployment rates as high as 90% in some areas). At 22, they still have up to 50 years left in their working life. If you want to bash them and say they should never get a job because they were "lazy" as a teen, then be prepared to have them supported by your tax dollars via either welfare or incarceration. Hardly a good solution in addition to being cold and callous. Instead, we should offer constructive suggestions.
1. Military. The military is truly the only major employer who does not even take experience into consideration. Outside of the Coast Guard, you have an excellent chance at getting in so long as you have no legal or medical problems. It may take a few months and it may not be the job you want, but you'll have at least 4 years of guaranteed quality employment and will be in a good posistion for any government job and/or jobs related to the field you trained in when you get out. While the private sector isn't so hot on military service, it is at least the equiavlent if not better than the minimum wage jobs you would otherwise be looking at.
2. Government. While other government employment isn't so easy to enter as the military, it is still preferable for someone in this situation than the private sector. Many of the hirings are based on a civil service hiring process, and the stricter it adheres to those test scores the less your lack of experience matters. Even interviews are structured and based on uniform scoring criteria rather than the subjectivity of a private sector interview. These jobs can be difficult to get, but you'll at least have a better playing field.
3. Think outside the box. You should look and see if there are any jobs in your area that have trouble finding enough applicants. There is usually a reason for this (undesirability), but it may work to your advantage since they tend not to care about previous experience and may be willing to train you and likely pay better than minimum wage. Really look and think outside of the box. Maybe watch "Dirty Jobs" and see if any of them are hiring nearby...
4. Vocational Training. You could go to learn a trade or some other in demand job with relatively low training time at your own expense. Look and see what is in demand and what is projected to be in demand in the near future. If a job is in demand and needs trained workers, it will not likely care whether you bagged groceries as a teen or focused on school.
5. Minimum wage. You could try starting at the bottom with minimum wage unskilled job. In this economy, a lot of these do care about experience and will take experienced workers over you. However, this is not universal and does vary. If you apply to enough places, you may well get lucky and some place will hire you. Such things as fast food, retail, physical labor, hospitality, security etc.
I would not rely on volunteering to count as work experience. Some employers will consider relevant volunteering the equivalent, but many will only consider general volunteering as a boost to a resume similar to college clubs and NOT a subsitute for paid employment. A lot of the better volunteer jobs that would get an employer's attention require the same sorts of things as paid employement (references, employment history etc), which would not help someone with neither.
This is not to say volunteering is bad or not recommended, but don't fall for the notion that you can volunteer for 6 months and then apply for jobs since you have "experience". That is 6 months of job searching wasted, and you may find those employers could care less about your volunteer experience.
Self employment is also something I believe to be overrated. Most do not have the aptitude for that sort of thing and, unless they are hugely successful, most employers do not view that as "real" work experience.
In conclusion, the prospects are bleak for an inexperienced worker if you want to work for corporate America in a mainstream comfortable job. Most people do. However, if you think outside the box and are willing to take on some difficult, dirty,dangerous or otherwise undesirable work you will find ample opportunity. You can use this to either build up the experience and references needed to then enter comfortable corporate America, or you may just well find satisfaction in the job. The choice is yours.
Good post! Don't forget internships!
Good opportunities to get experience, exposure, connections, and prove whether or not you are "ambitious" and a "good worker" that you claim in your resume. Also can get you references, and maybe even a full time position.
Point 5 is very good, I am sure no one wants to work minimum wage right out of college, but we really have no choice, better to work than to sit at home. I am on the fence about volunteering (though right now I am currently volunteering and in school). No doubt to volunteer is better than do nothing but there is no guarntee that Mr. Employer will count that as "real" expereince. What I would do is still apply for the real jobs/dream jobs but work at the same time, work at shop rite, target, stop and shop etc... - just something to make money and to have expereince, it may not be ideal but one needs every edge on their resume. If the minimum wage job does not come fast enough, then go volunteer whilst still looking for work and "ideal job". It sucks I know, you gradaute college ready to work the entry level, the internships and nothing is there...
I don't really care if someone was 14 in 1952 and got a job in 2 minutes. What you did in 1950 is irrelevant now. We are in 2012. The illusion is finally starting to show itself to people and yet there are millions who still think it's just some punk kid who needs to get over himself. It is much more then just that. Much more then you will ever know.
Point 5 is very good, I am sure no one wants to work minimum wage right out of college, but we really have no choice, better to work than to sit at home. I am on the fence about volunteering (though right now I am currently volunteering and in school). No doubt to volunteer is better than do nothing but there is no guarntee that Mr. Employer will count that as "real" expereince. What I would do is still apply for the real jobs/dream jobs but work at the same time, work at shop rite, target, stop and shop etc... - just something to make money and to have expereince, it may not be ideal but one needs every edge on their resume. If the minimum wage job does not come fast enough, then go volunteer whilst still looking for work and "ideal job". It sucks I know, you gradaute college ready to work the entry level, the internships and nothing is there...
Those are the jobs I am applying for and they won't get in touch with me or interview or hire me no matter what I do. I have been looking for 3-4 years now.
This is a slightly older thread, but this same theme keeps popping up over and over again. Younger workers with no work experience having difficulty getting in.
It's also evident why these keep coming up. Few of the resposnes offered actual suggestions to the situation and instead attacked the OP's lack of work experience while pumping themselves up for working since the age of 15 or 16. The fact of the matter is this is what the situaution is for the OP and millions of other young Americans (we have teen unemployment rates as high as 90% in some areas). At 22, they still have up to 50 years left in their working life. If you want to bash them and say they should never get a job because they were "lazy" as a teen, then be prepared to have them supported by your tax dollars via either welfare or incarceration. Hardly a good solution in addition to being cold and callous. Instead, we should offer constructive suggestions.
1. Military. The military is truly the only major employer who does not even take experience into consideration. Outside of the Coast Guard, you have an excellent chance at getting in so long as you have no legal or medical problems. It may take a few months and it may not be the job you want, but you'll have at least 4 years of guaranteed quality employment and will be in a good posistion for any government job and/or jobs related to the field you trained in when you get out. While the private sector isn't so hot on military service, it is at least the equiavlent if not better than the minimum wage jobs you would otherwise be looking at.
2. Government. While other government employment isn't so easy to enter as the military, it is still preferable for someone in this situation than the private sector. Many of the hirings are based on a civil service hiring process, and the stricter it adheres to those test scores the less your lack of experience matters. Even interviews are structured and based on uniform scoring criteria rather than the subjectivity of a private sector interview. These jobs can be difficult to get, but you'll at least have a better playing field.
3. Think outside the box. You should look and see if there are any jobs in your area that have trouble finding enough applicants. There is usually a reason for this (undesirability), but it may work to your advantage since they tend not to care about previous experience and may be willing to train you and likely pay better than minimum wage. Really look and think outside of the box. Maybe watch "Dirty Jobs" and see if any of them are hiring nearby...
4. Vocational Training. You could go to learn a trade or some other in demand job with relatively low training time at your own expense. Look and see what is in demand and what is projected to be in demand in the near future. If a job is in demand and needs trained workers, it will not likely care whether you bagged groceries as a teen or focused on school.
5. Minimum wage. You could try starting at the bottom with minimum wage unskilled job. In this economy, a lot of these do care about experience and will take experienced workers over you. However, this is not universal and does vary. If you apply to enough places, you may well get lucky and some place will hire you. Such things as fast food, retail, physical labor, hospitality, security etc.
I would not rely on volunteering to count as work experience. Some employers will consider relevant volunteering the equivalent, but many will only consider general volunteering as a boost to a resume similar to college clubs and NOT a subsitute for paid employment. A lot of the better volunteer jobs that would get an employer's attention require the same sorts of things as paid employement (references, employment history etc), which would not help someone with neither.
This is not to say volunteering is bad or not recommended, but don't fall for the notion that you can volunteer for 6 months and then apply for jobs since you have "experience". That is 6 months of job searching wasted, and you may find those employers could care less about your volunteer experience.
Self employment is also something I believe to be overrated. Most do not have the aptitude for that sort of thing and, unless they are hugely successful, most employers do not view that as "real" work experience.
In conclusion, the prospects are bleak for an inexperienced worker if you want to work for corporate America in a mainstream comfortable job. Most people do. However, if you think outside the box and are willing to take on some difficult, dirty,dangerous or otherwise undesirable work you will find ample opportunity. You can use this to either build up the experience and references needed to then enter comfortable corporate America, or you may just well find satisfaction in the job. The choice is yours.
i would take out minimum-wage, because there is still a lot of competition for jobs like McDonald's, Grocery Stores, Walmart, Target, Home-Depot, Lowe's, OSH, Movie Theaters, Retail clothing stores, even they expect or want years of experience with a Cash Register or as a Sales Associate
I know this thread is incredibly old, but I want to voice my own opinions on here because most of you people are making me mad. "There is no excuse to never have worked at age 22." Excuse me?! I am 22 and I just got my first job (my dream job to be exact) and I had never worked a day in my life until I was hired on. I live in a middle sized town as well. My parents never paid for my schooling either. I didn't work in high school, I graduated, went to college, got a degree four years later, and boom now I have my dream job. I graduated high school with very high honors and worked my butt off to get scholarships. I did which not only paid my tuition and everything else, but also gave me around 5,000 extra dollars for the year. Saving up that, Christmas, and birthday money I was financially fine. I relaxed in the summer like you are suppose to. School was my job! Now that I graduated and got a degree, that's when I looked for a job. I got one right off, I am a special education teacher for the best high school in my state, and they never once looked if I had worked elsewhere when interviewing or hiring. Most workplaces don't care if you worked at McDonalds when you were 16 because it doesn't even apply to the job you will be doing. I love my job now and never once thought a thing of not "working" until I was 22.
Those are the jobs I am applying for and they won't get in touch with me or interview or hire me no matter what I do. I have been looking for 3-4 years now.
If what you are saying is true then that is very strange. Where I am, the Shop Rite, the Burger King,the Staples, The Wendy's etc... are nearly always hiring since nobody really wants to work minimum wage for long. Could it be a personality thing, is the dress, lack of hygiene etc...? I ask because my cousin was able to get a job at Wendy's at 21 in spite of having no prior work experiencing.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
